It is very difficult to determine the actual cause of death. There was bleeding around the heart which may have been caused by the blood draw (which was happening when she stopped breathing) or may have been caused by attempts to resuscitate (she was given several injections (epinephrine?) and CPR given for some time.

Barbara also had a number of other medical issues going on that were not diagnosed. The most notable of which is the heart disease. It is unclear whether this in connected, but it is probable that it contributed to hear death in some way.

The Total Protein Creatine number was shocking. My vet explained that in dogs they would expect to see a number as high as 5 - anything over 1 is considered abnormal. Barbara's number was 30. If I remember rightly, my vet said that this indicate Barbara's condition was much worse than expected, and her kidneys were likely just failing to filtre any thing correctly, see also below:

They also found that the levels of waste/harmful compounds found in the blood were higher. Which indicates her kidneys were unable to filtre out these materials (i'm afraid I don't remember the names of the particular compounds)

I asked whether there was any indication that the treatment was helping. She said it was hard to say, but that, had Barbara survived that day, given her chem panel we would probably have discussed lowering the dose on enarlapril.

I asked also whether she thought there was any indication of the cause. She said this was also hard to tell, given that there was absolutely no sign of an infection (which would be most likely to cause the nephrotic syndrome) she suspected that it was a genetic condition.

I asked whether Barbara had suffered and she reassured me that given how quickly she went and her attitude that day and the type of illness, that she was sure that Barbara did not suffer and probably didn't even realise what was happening or that she was so ill.

When I saw my vet yesterday she told me that Barbara was going to be discussed at an upcoming veterinary conference this summer. They will discuss her diagnosis and treatment. She said that Barbara will demonstrate 'how much more we still need to learn about guinea pigs'.

She was such a special pig. It makes me so happy that she has this legacy.

It is definitely through pet owners like you that go the extra mile and work with a good vet to find out what is going on medically that advance our understanding of illness.

I don't know if your vet intends to publish anything but whether or not, she would be more than welcome to write up a case study to be added to the appropriate area in the Records forum where it is more easily accessed.

Barbara's greatest legacy will be to help others of her kind. And please do remember that if you had not gotten the quality of care for her that you did, Cornell (and everyone else) would not be able to learn.